Fiat, Alfa Romeo to slash prices

Toby Hagon

Italian brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo are planning a sales onslaught on the back of a revised range with additional models and sharper pricing.

In February 2013 Fiat will slash prices by up to 30 per cent as part of a major relaunch of the brand that will bring revised features and a wider dealer network.

The major model realignment since the brand ceased being handled by an independent importer and came in under the recently formed Fiat Chrysler Group will see:

Fiat 500 reintroduced at about $17,000

Fiat Panda to be sold in Australia for the first time

Introduction of Fiat Freemont people mover

Revised Alfa Romeo Giulietta range targeted at Volkswagen Golf

Lower pricing for Alfa Romeo MiTo

An additional 30 Fiat and Alfa Romeo dealers

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Sales at least tripled by end of 2014

Headlining the changes for Fiat and Alfa Romeo will be the reintroduction of the distinctive Fiat 500 hatchback, which will be priced from well under $20,000.

“In that segment it’s very price sensitive and we need an entry-level car to compete with those [brands] that advertise price,” says Fiat Chrysler Group Australia president and CEO Clyde Campbell. “We’ll introduce a car that does that and we’re sure that by having a European offering with its styling we’ll dramatically increase the results we’ve been achieving.”

While the new model will miss out on some of the equipment of the premium priced 500 that was last sold here in mid-2012 (sportier versions of the 500 have been sold under the Abarth brand) the price change will boost sales significantly and create a new entry-level for the brand.

The price realignment will put the 500 – previously sold exclusively as a sporty or premium model – in competition with volume sellers such as the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Volkswagen Polo.

With only three doors the 500 won’t appeal to the same wide group of buyers, but it will be joined early in 2014 by the Fiat 500L – or Long – which brings the five-door flexibility.

Campbell says the Fiat brand will also be bolstered by two newcomers, the Panda five-door – likely to be priced at less than $19,000 – and the Freemont that is Fiat’s take on the largely unknown Dodge Journey.

While the Journey and Freemont use the same bodies the Journey is a V6-powered seven-seater while the Freemont will get five seats standard (a seven-seater will be optional) and the choice of four-cylinder diesel or petrol power.

With Alfa Romeo Campbell is planning similarly radical changes to the range, starting with the MiTo baby hatchback that will sharper pricing.

The Giulietta small hatch will also better prime itself for a challenge with the Volkswagen Golf that’s now a serious volume player against predominantly Japanese and South Korean rivals.

The Giulietta is likely to be positioned against the Golf 90TSI, which sells from $26,990, plus on-road and dealer costs.

“We need to be competitive with the other volume Europeans,” says Campbell of the Giulietta.

The changes are aimed at boosting the presence – and sales – of Fiat and Alfa Romeo.

“Across the Fiat and Alfa range in 2014 we’d expect to at least triple what was achieved later year,” says Campbell. “In terms of percentage growth Fiat and Alfa will be really huge for us in the next two years.”

Already the Fiat Chrysler Group is experiencing an impressive sales surge, with Jeep sales last year jumping by 108 per cent.

To accompany the planned sales growth Campbell has appointed about 30 new dealers, taking the total to well over 50 across the country.